Need opinions on best eBay sniper for my brother.

by PR0VIDENCE Banned
4 replies
I don't know anything about automated eBay sniping, but my brother wants a program that will do it for him.
I don't care if I have to buy it, but he wants something good and it must also work with his piece of sh*t comp... more commonly known as a Mac.
Please give me your ideas.
#brother #ebay #opinions #sniper
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    • Profile picture of the author bobpaulson2132
      I'd recommend a web-based service rather than a software that you install on the computer, as you then don't have to worry about leaving your computer on, power outage, etc.

      Hidbid.com is another good service to use.

      Just remember that all your doing when sniping is waiting until a few seconds before auction end to place your bid. You still have to have the highest bid to win. Unless, 2 bids are the same or there isn't enough difference between them to meet ebay's minimum bid increment. In that case, the 1st bid in wins.

      Automated sniping is a convenience for people that want to avoid drawing early attention to an item, and 'nibbling' bidders (bidders who will bid the minimun increment over and over until they're the high bid), both of which normally result in a higher final price. If you have the time, you can do it manually.

      A couple more benefits of sniping:

      1. You can just cancel a snipe with up to 2 or 3 minutes before the end of an auction (I guess depending on the service or software you use), if you change your mind about bidding on an item, and your bid won't be placed. If you place a bid on ebay and then retract it (not a seller's or ebay's favorite thing), you can be blocked from bidding on other auctions after doing this a few times, not sure what that # is.

      2. Sniping is actually a way of combatting shill bidding - when the seller or his buddy bids on the item until they're the high bid, and know your max, then retract their bid, and use yet another account to bid on the item, bidding just below your max. You don't give the shiller time to retract their bid in order to leave you as the high bidder, close to your max. You can't do much about a shill bidder letting their bid ride to the end of the auction, if it just raises but doesn't exceed yours.

      Anyone bidding on ebay should understand ebay's proxy bidding system (accepts your whole bid amount, but raises it only until it is the high bid, or it has been exceeded), and have an idea about their bid increments.


      The best plan for ebay bidding - bid once, late.
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  • Profile picture of the author tomcam
    Sorry for the late reply. The oldest and best of the web-based services is eSnipe. (Not an aff link. Those losers don't have an affiliate program.) They have the most generous free trial policy and DO NOT ask for any credit card or similar info as part of the free trial. The tech support staff have been with them for years and are all natives of the USA.

    Teensy weensy disclosure: I have owned eSnipe since 2000 (bought the company on eBay... using eSnipe).
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  • Profile picture of the author Monsterd
    Remember there are two ways to win good deals on eBay. Sniping (placing a bid at the last minute) and searching for newly listed buy-it-now items that are under priced with no bid option.

    Buy-It-Now items are where the deals are really at.

    Sniping these days is so common. Everyday users that purchase off eBay a few times a year know about Sniping and so many applications exist that it's not rocket science and very easy to do that even these normal users are using sniping applications... Not to mention the serious bidders who buy for resale.

    With that said, I've used them all and would recommend MyiBidder for the following reasons:
    - It's easy to setup and use
    - You can download a browser application where a button shows up on eBay listing page to place your snipe. You never have to go to an external site to place your bid.
    - Android and iOS application. And it's easy to use. Directly from the eBay mobile app you can SEND LINK to the sniping app seamlessly which makes bidding away from the PC really easy.

    To my knowledge, they're the only ones who have created a mobile app and it's 2014. People use tablets and smartphones and for this feature alone makes it boss.

    If you want to get into the newly listed BIN items, you can check out BINSNIPER (firefox addon) or uBuyFirst, which is an application for established power buyers who make a part or full time income (full blown out business) about buying items on eBay.

    ---Experience - I use to buy a few hundred thousand dollars worth of cell phones off eBay a month and resold them to China for 4-5 years straight.
    Signature

    Godlike eBay experience, talent and success.

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